S16: Gridtale
by IMC Librarian
Summary: Welcome to Gridtale, the newest Undertale AU. Let us delve into the story of a Program named Frisk.
1. Table of Contents

IMC Librarian  
Story 16  
**Gridtale**

* * *

[CH1: Off the Grid]  
Frisk wakes up in the Badlands, where he encounters the Monstrites... and a caretaker.

**UPCOMING CHAPTER  
**[CH2: Beyond the Ruins]  
Living with Toriel has given Frisk a path to go down in life, but when Toriel decides it is time for the Program to move on, how well are his new skills going to help him after he leaves the Ruins?


	2. CH1

S16-1  
**Off the Grid**

* * *

Long ago, two races ruled over the Grid: Programs and Monstrites.

One cycle, war broke out between the two races.

After a long battle, the Programs were victorious.

The Monstrites were exiled far, far away from the Grid, and kept there with a Rezz Barrier.

Thousands of cycles later...

**OUTLANDS - EBOTT SECTOR  
571X**

Legends say that those who enter the Outlands never return.

* * *

He groggily woke up, finding himself laying on a bed of luminescent cyan flowers.

On his right, smoking debris, a few scattered pixels, and flickering lights.

On his left, a single glowing hoop.

He picked up the ring, examining it, and it projected some information. "_Thank the Users... I'd be in trouble if I lost it._" The projection fizzling out, Frisk reaffixed the Identity Disc to his back.

There was a dark passageway ahead, so the young Basic decided to explore.

At the end of the passage was a dark chamber, and in the middle of the chamber... was a strange flower. Its stem was the black of a Program's suit, its petals glowed a vibrant red, there were lines of white circuitry along the stem, and in between the glowing petals... was a face. "_Howdy!_" It spoke...! " _I'm Flowey. Flowey the flower!_"

Frisk backed away slightly, startled by what he was seeing.

"_Hmmm... You're new to the Outlands, aren'tcha?_" Frisk nodded cautiously. "_Golly, you must be so confused. Someone ought to teach you how things work around here! I guess little old me will have to do. Ready? Here we go!_" Cautiously, Frisk drew his Disc, its edges now surrounded in blue.

"_To survive out here, you need... 'power bytes'._" Glowing white marbles of energy appeared out of nowhere. "_Here you go, buddy! Get as many as you can!_" The marbles surrounded him, floating about aimlessly. The moment Frisk touched one of the tiny orbs, they all pelted him... harshly.

He fell to his hands and knees, dropping his Disc. The lights on his suit were flickering, fading in and out. Frisk had been nearly de-rezzed.

"_You idiot. Out here, it's de-rezz or BE de-rezzed. Why would ANYONE pass up an opportunity like this!?_" Flowey's voice cackled. A large ring of those orbs appeared, surrounding Frisk. "_Die._" As Flowey laughed, the ring closed in on the weakened Basic.

Suddenly, another glowing hoop zipped through, engulfed in a blue fire, clipping a few of Flowey's petals, causing the spheres to vanish. The Disc that had just de-rezzed parts of some of Flowey's petals bounced off the chamber walls, forcing Flowey to quickly slink into the ground before the blue ring could slice through his head.

Frisk struggled to lift his head, seeing blue and white circuitry glowing in the dark of the room. His savior's Disc had returned to the hand of its owner, who then placed it upon their back as the flames fizzled out.

A woman's voice was heard. "_Such a terrible pile of pixels, torturing such a poor, innocent youth._" She stepped out from the darkness of the chamber, revealing... something. She did not have the face of a User, but instead possessed the face of what the Users know as a goat. "_Do not worry, my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I pass through this place every cycle to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first Program to come here in a long time. Come. I will guide you through the catacombs. But first..._" Toriel took out a vial of a glowing cyan liquid.

Energy!

She handed the small glass of energy to the weakened Basic. Frisk took it, and downed the liquid. His circuitry, a light blue with bits of red, stopped flickering, and glowed strongly.

Still a bit woozy, Frisk staggered unsteadily to his feet. "_Easy now._" Toriel warned, picking up Frisk's Identity Disc. She handed it to the young Basic, who returned it to the port on his back. No way was he becoming a Stray here.

Frisk steadied himself, then faced Toriel. "_Th... Thank you._" He was calming down.

"_This way._" Toriel walked up ahead, entering another room. Frisk followed close behind her.

"_Uhh... Ms Toriel? Where exactly are we?_" Frisk wondered, seeing the brightly lit room just ahead.

"_You do have a home back on the Grid, do you not?_" Toriel asked, only for Frisk to present his Disc. "_Very well._" A projection appeared above the Disc, showing the caretaker the Basic's life history. "_I see._" She handed the Disc back to its owner. "_Welcome to your new home, innocent one. Allow me to educate you in the operation of the Ruins._" She stepped on four switches on the ground, then hit a panel on the wall with her Disc. The nearby door opened. "_The Ruins are full of puzzles. Ancient fusions between diversions and doorkeys. One must solve them to move from room to room. Please adjust yourself to the sight of them._" The Basic nodded.

Drawing his Disc for any puzzles ahead, Frisk entered the next room. "_To make progress here, you will need to trigger several switches. Do not worry. I have marked the ones that you need to flip._" Toriel instructed. She then proceeded to the end of the room, where there was a red barrier wall.

Going across the first bridge, Frisk saw a single panel on the wall... with a carved marking around it. He hit it with his Disc, then crossed the second bridge. Two more panels, and Frisk struck the marked one. The barrier wall dissipated.

"_Splendid! I am proud of you, little one. Let us move to the next room._" Frisk followed her, seeing a data decoy near a wall. "_As a Program living in the Outlands, Monstrites may attack you. You will need to be prepared for this situation. However, worry not! I am sure you can reason with them. Give it a go._"

Frisk approached the decoy, stowing his Disc. After a moment of silence, the Basic spoke to it. "_I owe my life to Toriel. She saved me. You wanna get to me, you'll have to go through her._" Toriel chuckled at Frisk's words, then decided to play along, glaring at the dummy.

"_Excellent. Excellent!_" Toriel then turned and headed into the next room, with Frisk following behind her. "_There is another puzzle in this room. I wonder if you can solve it..._"

In the floor was some kind of path, but as Frisk walked along it, he was surprised by a sudden encounter with another Monstrite, which appeared to resemble what the Users called a frog.

"_Lady Toriel!_" Frisk called.

The caretaker turned around, seeing the Monstrite. She walked up behind it, and drew her Disc, blue flames emanating from its edges. The Monstrite slowly scooted away.

With the encounter resolved, Frisk continued following Toriel as she put away her Disc. He then stopped and turned to look at a sign on the wall.

The western room is the eastern room's blueprint.

When Frisk rounded the corner, he saw the eastern room, seeing a platform of spiky tiles. "_This is the puzzle, but..._" Toriel looked unsure about it. "_Here. Take my hand for a moment._" Frisk confusedly grasped Toriel's hand. She slowly led him across, with the spikes slinking down as the two neared them on the previously indicated path. They eventually made it to the other side. "_Puzzles seem a little too dangerous for now._"

In the next room, Toriel turned back to Frisk. "_You have done very well thus far, my child. However, I have a... difficult request to ask of you. I would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourself. Forgive me for thi-_"

"_Shouldn't be too hard._" Frisk walked past Toriel, then made his way down the exceedingly long hallway, passing the one pillar in the room, and heading through the doorway.

Toriel caught up to him. "_Well done. There was a reason for this exercise. It was to test your independence. Though it turns out you have been independent the whole time, you followed me because... I gained your trust._" She ruffled the hair on the Basic's head. "_I must attend to some business, but you may come with me if you like._"

The caretaker then headed onward, with Frisk following close behind her. "_What business do you need to take care of?_"

"_Well... It has been a while since I have cleaned up. I was not expecting to have company so soon. There are quite a few things lying about. My home is... a bit of a mess._" She didn't seem particularly fond of that.

The journey was... uneventful, save for a few puzzles being solved and Monstrite encounters being cut short by Toriel's intimidation. Behind an old tree was a house built into the walls. Frisk could detect an enticing aroma.

"_Do you smell that? I was just preparing a meal before I headed out. I heard a loud explosion, and after I rushed out to see what had happened, I saw that lowly thing torturing you._" Toriel explained. "_I have a surprise for you._" She headed to the hallway on the right, and Frisk followed. "_This is it. A room of your very own. I do hope you like it. Make yourself at home. I will not be far._" With that, she walked off.

Frisk headed into the room, seeing a lovely assortment of necessities... and other things. "_I... could get comfy here._"

Later that cycle, Toriel was sitting in a chair in front of the fireplace on the other side of the house, with Frisk sitting in her lap as they were reading a book off the nearby shelf. "_Frisk?_" The Basic looked up at her. "_I want you to know how glad I am to have someone here._"

He nestled into the Monstrite's caring arms, an ever-present smile on his face. "_And I want you to know how glad I am... to be a part of something meaningful._"

Toriel smiled warmly at the Program in her lap. "_And to think they were sending you off to the Games..._"

* * *

Welcome to the newest Undertale AU: Gridtale.

See you next time, Users.


End file.
